Mr. Wellington : I used to see you frequently at the doctor’s. Now I don’t. I suppose you’re fit and well.

Mr. Illingworth : In fact, I haven’t been enjoying good health of late. I was suffering from continuous high grade fever and severe bouts of cold. I was down with typhoid, followed by a malarial attack. As I was recuperating, I slipped down the stairs and fractured my arm. I also sustained a ligament tear in my left ankle. To top it all I almost had a cardiac arrest. I was admitted in the hospital. I was there for ten days. I was discharged only last week. I’m convalescing at my son’s place now. The neighbour over three coughs all night. I’m already suffering from insomnia. I thought I could go over to my daughter’s place in Bangalore. But you know I have wheezing, and the climate over there might aggravate it. Moreover…..

Mr. Wellington : But what does the doctor suggest?

Mr. Illingworth : Which doctor?

Mr. Wellington : The doctor at the clinic, where I see you, whenever I pass by.

Mr. Bhairav : Doctor, my dog is scratching like crazy all the time. She has lost lot of hair. I’m afraid she wouldn’t win this year’s Ms. Beautiful Hair at the Annual Dog Show.

Vet : Let me see. Well, she’s infested with fleas. I’ll prescribe a shampoo and powder. For now, my assistant will apply a lotion. Do not wash it immediately. Let it dry for three to four hours. Then bathe her with this shampoo. Dry her after her bath and apply this powder. ……

Ms. Kitty : Doctor, My cat hasn’t eaten anything for two days.

Vet : Let me take a look. (inspects the cat) By the way, Ms. Kitty, you seem to have gone down quite a bit since I saw you last.

Ms. Kitty : Well, doctor. You’re right. I’ve been attending a dieting and slimming course.
Vet : Have you been taking her with you?

Ms. Kitty : Of, course. She follows me wherever I go.

Vet : No, wonder then. She’s dieting too!

Ms. Kitty : What do I do, doctor?

Vet : Well, have you tried tempting her with a plateful of fish and lot of milk?

Ms. Kitty : No, doctor. You see, I would be tempted on seeing a plateful of food. And what would happen to my Ms.Chennai dream? ……

Anila : Doctor, I picked up a baby squirrel from the garden yesterday. She is bruised. Must’ve fallen off the tree.

Prabha : Adventure?! How come? You were going to Pune for a quiet holiday at your grandfather’s farm, weren’t you?

Sudha : Yes. You see, we had to go to Pune en route Bombay to pick up my aunts and via Hyderabad for a stop-over as Dad had some business deals to complete. Dad came up with a suggestion that we try different modes of transport. So we booked air and train tickets at the booking counters, boarded the train to Hyderabad, took a flight to Bombay and from
there we completed our journey to Pune by road.

Prabha : So that was the adventure!

Sudha : It was just one of the many. The adventure started from home when we couldn’t get the car started so we had to phone for a call taxi.We were delayed on our way due to
traffic snarls, and we managed to reach the railway station at the nick of time. Surprisingly, the train was starting out as scheduled so we scrambled into the coach with the porter
pushing us in along with our luggage. With the train departing on time we arrived at Hyderabad, without much ado but it was difficult to find the three star hotel in which
we had booked rooms well in advance. By the time we checked in we were exhausted!
As we had to catch a 7 a.m flight with the reporting time at 6 am we asked the reception to give us an early morning call at 4 a.m. He woke us only at 5.30 a.m. So we had to dash
to the airport, run up to the check-in desk, weigh our luggage – fortunately we had no excess baggage – collect our boarding passes and rush to the departure lounge. It was only then that we noticed the weather conditions! Yes, you guessed right! There was heavy fog! So you can imagine what followed: the flight was delayed by fog! We finally boarded
the plane at 8 am found our seats with the help of the airsteward and relaxed only after we had fastened our seat belts, and watched through the porthole the plane taxiing along the runway before it took off. The flight was not bumpy in spite of the weather and the pilot being a veteran, the plane cruised at a comfortable altitude. The touchdown was so smooth that I didn’t realise we had landed. When we alighted from the plane and walked to the terminal building we found our aunties waiting to receive us. They had rented cars for our drive down to Pune. So we piled in into two Ambassadors and from here the excitement began.

Prabha : I don’t see what is so exciting about riding in a car.We are doing it everyday, aren’t we?

Sudha : It’s not the car ride I’m talking about! It’s the road! The beautiful scenery on either side; the cool freshness of the air! There’s nothing like travelling by road if you want to know your country!

Prabhu : No, a close friend of the groom’s brother. I’m Prabhu. He and I work in a publishing house. I’m an accountant in T S Publications.

Ravi : Oh! Is that so? They are one of the leading publishers, I’m told, with a high turn over! Your work must be quite interesting.

Prabhu : Far from it! It is a nine-to-five job, with a lot of paper work and a fixed salary with no perks. But it is my first job so I am learning the ropes to gain experience.

Ravi : I’m Ravi. I am with a small-scale industry. We produce nuts and bolts for automobile ancillary units. I look after administration as well as quality control, though my designation is Senior Manager , Accounts.

Prabhu : You must be on your toes the whole day!

Ravi : Not at all! It’s a safe and sedate job especially when you have a responsible team under your command. Besides, there are no transfers, no chances of embezzlement and no bossy orders from the top. Everything works on set schedules and procedures, so I can go about my work in a mechanical way till I am ready for retirement.

Kumar : Yes!We do occasionally save kittens from trees and dogs caught in large garbage bins, but more often we are fighting fires in narrow streets and high-rise buildings.

Prabhu : Interesting! What are your hours of work? Twenty- four hours? How about your salary?

Kumar : Not always. It’s not a nine-to-five job, nor a part time one. Nor is it exactly flexi-time.We follow a shift system on roster but adjust in a crisis with an over-time and often forego our time-off voluntarily. As for salary, its a government scale of pay with PF, CCA, HRA, increment, bonus name it, we have it!

Prabhu : Do you have any other perquisites or privileges?

Kumar : Of course! We are fully insured with medical facilities. Promotions are smooth and quick depending on our performance. We have our share of holidays with travel allowance and earned leave but “priority to the call of duty” is the unspoken law.

Suresh : Duty is always the priority! I’m Suresh, a doctor – specialist in Cardiology and my cell-phone and keys are always within reach!

Kumar : You look too young to be a doctor! And how is your job? Is it as exciting as mine?

Suresh : Well! … exciting .. er… yes, in a way. It is as high-risk a job as yours, because one wrong diagnosis or a careless movement of the lancet and my career is as good as dead! Ravi : Do you have fixed working hours when there are no outpatients or theatre-operations?

Suresh : No, we are not bound by time-schedules, only duty schedules. And other aspects like transfer are only in government hospitals and private chain-hospitals. Promotions .. well, you climb the career ladder on the percentage of patients you successfully send out with full recovery. In other words, your career growth is synonymous with your experience measured by the trust your patients have in you.

Prabhu : How about you? Are you with Kumar? You look as young as him!

Gopal : No, I’m the bride’s cousin. I am a trainee at an engineering unit. I have been appointed through my Institute’s placement interviews.

Prabhu : Normally trainees are green at their jobs and are bound to get “kicked around” a bit before they get stream-lined into a specialised area of work. How is it with you?

Gopal : Well, nothing to provoke complaints, but the boss is a demanding, tough task-master. He has a reputation of having sacked thrice as many trainees as he has had promoted. So I’m already on the look out for another opening so that I can quit before he dismisses me!

Prabhu : You trainees are paid quite a sum these days ! Thirty years ago an “apprentice” as he was called then, earned a “stipend” of a maximum of Rs.100/- per month!

Gopal : Yes, job benefits are sound and having a pay-slip showing a five-digit salary when we are just out of college, is quite intoxicating. Besides, we have all other facilities and perks. There’s travel allowance, over-time pay when we work late hours; and there are luncheons and dinners galore on the slightest pretext of a conference. And the work is really challenging enough, to not burn out with fatigue or boredom.

Prabhu : So when does your training get over?

Gopal : It’s a six month traineeship, then if I satisfy my boss I am promoted right away into ‘executive’ position. From thereon success depends on quantitative and qualitative project completion. The more impressive my portfolio, the better are the chances of growth.

Prabhu : All the best Gopal! Shiva : Hey! Don’t leave me out! I’m Shiva, the bride’s kid brother, and I am with the largest group in India. It’s called the UGGI, the Unemployed Graduate Group of Idlers!

your time, please? I’m Daniel Robinson, and I represent Crusoe Automatons Ltd. You see, we have launched a robot – Girl Friday. You name the chore and she performs it. Want a glass of water? Just tell her and she’ll get you one.

Buyer : What if I want the floor cleaned?

Sales rep : She’ll do it in a jiffy. She’s a real wonder.

Buyer : How do I operate her?

Sales rep : See this knob. Just turn and switch on this button. Here

she goes.

Buyer : What about the power connection?

Sales rep : She operates on battery. Once a week she needs to be

charged.

Buyer : She too! Well, what’s the cost of this robot?

Sales rep : Only ten thousand rupees.

Buyer : Only? My! That’s quite expensive.

Sales rep : Think about the time and energy saved, Madam.

Buyer : What other features does the robot have?

Sales rep : Well, she has a remarkable memory. She can store any

amount of information. For example you can tell her your shopping list, birthdays, things to do, etc., and she reminds you every now and then.

Buyer : Will she wake me up every morning?

Sales rep : Of bourse she will. But you don’t have to, because she would do all the chores. You can have your beauty sleep.

Buyer : What’s the warranty period?

Sales rep : Three years.

Buyer : And after sales service?

Sales rep : She wouldn’t need that for a long time. Alter all she’s

designed to serve you. Well, in ease of trouble, you can contact this hour help line.